Folding camera.



F. F. DORSEY.

FOLDING CAMERA.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 6, 1915.

Patented Apr. 18,1916.

fll )1 l3 Ego o 9 l0 Hmmgnmm M 14 4 Dcww a Du/m UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

FARNUM F. DORSEY, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, .ASSIGNOR TO SENECA CAMERA MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION.

FOLDING CAMERA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 18, 1916.

Application filed November 6, 1915. Serial No. 60,101.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FARNUM F. DoRsEY, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Folding Cameras, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to folding cameras of the type in which the body and the extensible front are connected by arms, which are pivoted to the body so as to swing'into either folded or extended position. In such a construction it is usual to slot the arms, and to provide the front with studs which move in the slots, and the slots are provided, at their outer extremities, with lateral notches. By the employment of resilient means of some form, at the connection of the arms with the body of the camera, the arms are caused to be swung and held in a position in which the studs are seated in the said notches, when the camera is unfolded, so that the front is locked in extended position.

An objectionable feature of the construction just described resides in the fact that when the camera is to be restored to the folded condition several manual operations must be performed simultaneously. The body of the camera must be held between the hands, each of the arms must be swung outwardly to disengage the notches from the studs, and at the same time the front must be pushed rearwardly.

The object of the present invention is to produce a folding camera having the simplicity and other desirable features of the type above described, but in which the folding operation may be performed in a simpler and more convenient manner. I have discovered-that this may be accomplished by so forming the slots in the arms that they have inclined outer extremities, in place of the lateral notches heretofore employed. These inclined extremities can be arranged at such an angle that the resilient tendency of the arms to swing toward folded position tends to resist movement of the studs rearwardly within the inclined extremities of the slots, and the resistance so afforded is sufiicient to maintain the bellows in extended position, and to hold the parts of the camera firmly in their proper relation. On-

the other hand, when it is desired to fold the camera this may be accomplished by a mere pressure against the front, this pressure resulting in overcoming the resistance of the arms and the resilient means by which they are controlled, so as to permit the studs to move rearwardly through the inclined extremities of the slots and into the main portions of the slots, whereupon the resistance to the rearward movement of the front disappears, and the remainder of the movement may be performed in the usual manner.

In the accompanying drawings: Figuresl and 2 are, respectively, a side-elevation and a plan-view of a folding camera embodying the presentinvention, shown in partly unfolded condition; and Fig. 3 is a sideelevation showing the camera completely unfolded and ready for use.

The invention is illustrated as embodied in a folding camera of well known general form and construction. This camera has the usual body 5, and an extensible front 6, the latter serving to support the shutter and the lens (not shown) in the usual manner. The body and the front are connected by the usual bellows 7 The means for retaining the front in extended position are shown as comprising four arms 8 of sheet-metal, which are provided with longitudinal slots 9. These slots are engaged by studs 10 projecting from the front 6 near its several corners. The arms 8 of each pair are formed integral with a yoke-shaped sheet-metal member comprising lugs 11 connected by a transverse portion 13. The lugs are connected with the body 5 near its corners by pivots 12. The

parts 13 not only serve to connect the arms and to retain them in parallel position, but they also afford resilient connections between the arms and the body of the camera, since they will spring when the arms are moved vertically. When the arms have reached the position of Fig. 1, the parts 13 engage fixed abutments 14 on the body 5, these abutments having conveniently the form of the heads of screws fixed in the body. Further forward movement of the front 6, resulting in further swinging movement of the arm, causes springing of the parts 13. The outer extremities of the slots 9 are inclined, as shown, and when these extremities are reached the tendency of the parts 13 to swing the arms toward each other results in retaining the studs securely at the extremities of the slots. The degree of force with which they are so retained depends upon the spring of the parts 13, and also upon the angle of the inclined extremities of the slots.

.' which has been found convenient and suitable. lVhen the camera is folded it is necessary only to press against the front with sufficient force to overcome the yielding resistance of the arms, whereupon the studs 10 will move rearwardly out of the inclined extremities of the slots, and the completion of the folding operation will then be performed in the usual manner.

While I have shown the resilient means for controlling the arms 8 as integral with said arms, and as constituting a part of the connected between said arms and the pivots 12, it will be apparent that this particular arrangement is not essential to the invention,

and that various modifications may be made 25 in the construction hereinbefore described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, within the nature of the invention as it is defined in the following claim.

I claim In a folding camera, the combination, with the body and the extensible front, of studs projecting from the front; arms pivoted to the body and longitudinally slotted; and resilient means tending to swing 35 the arms, from fully extended position toward folded position; said studs engaging and traversing the slots in the arms, and the outer extremities of the slots being inclined at an angle such as to resist inward movement of the studs, in consequence of the action of said resilient means, but to permit the front to be moved forcibly toward closed position.

FARNUM F. DORSEY.

Copies 0! this patent be obtained for flve cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents- Wuhlngton, D. G." 

